All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The human gastrointestinal (GI) tract is host to a vast number of microorganisms, which include archaea, bacteria, and eukaryotes. To date, at least 70 divisions of bacteria and 13 divisions of archaea have been identified, and their collective genome (the microbiome) is believed to contain 100 times more genes than the human genome (A1,A2). Although the composition and number of microbes in the gut depends on many factors (A3,A4), by adulthood most humans reach an established, relatively stable balance of type, and numbers of microbes that is unique to a given individual (A5). This microbial community is thought to develop with the host by establishing symbiotic relationships which favor their coexistence (A3,A6), such as assisting the host in the breakdown of food for absorption and elimination (A7). While the full breadth of the impact of these gut microbes on the human host will take years to uncover, the complex and often interdependent relationships between gut microbes and the human host have been of increasing scientific interest this past decade, and this interest continues to grow. In particular, there is ample and growing evidence to suggest potential roles for gut microbes in energy homeostasis, inflammation, and insulin resistance (A8-A10), and as a result, gut microbes have been considered as possible causative factors of metabolic conditions and obesity, as well as potential therapeutic targets (A11-A15).
Methanogens are important constituents of gut microbiota that colonize the human intestinal tract. These organisms are not bacteria but archaea and generate methane by utilizing hydrogen and carbon dioxide (from syntrophic hydrogen producing bacteria) [10]. Several decades ago, Miller and Wolin isolated methanogens which were morphologically and physiologically similar to Methanobrevibacter smithii from fecal specimens of nine adults demonstrating methane production by enrichment cultures. When examined by immunological methods, these isolates were very closely related to M. smithii and unrelated or poorly related to other members of the Methanobacteriaceae family [11]. Utilizing the same morphological and immunological techniques, Weaver et al detected M. smithii in tap water enema samples of 70% of their subjects before sigmoidoscopy. A small subset of these patients who underwent breath analysis needed at least 2×108 methanogens/gm dry weight of stool to have detectable breath methane of >6 parts per million (ppm) [12]. However, these studies have not examined subjects with IBS and have not been replicated using molecular techniques such as PCR.
This distinct group grows primarily under anaerobic conditions, and produces methane (CH4) as a byproduct of fermentation. Methanogens are unique in that their metabolism increases in the presence of products from other gut microbes (A16), as they scavenge hydrogen and ammonia as substrates for the generation of methane (A17,A18). Once absorbed into systemic circulation, methane is cleared via the lungs. The majority of methanogens found in the human gut are from the genus Methanobrevibacter; predominantly Methanobrevibacter smithii (A7). M. smithii is found in 70% of human subjects, and analysis of expiratory methane by lactulose breath testing can serve as an indirect measure of methane production (A7,A19). A minority of subjects (15%) produce large quantities of methane early in the breath test, suggesting a greater methane potential (A20), and increased methane production on breath test correlates with increased levels of M. smithii in stool, as determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR) (A20,A21).
Introduction of both a Bacteroides species (Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron) and M. smithii into germ-free mice resulted in greater body weights than with B. thetaiotaomicron alone (A22), and methanogens have been shown to increase the capacity of polysaccharide-metabolizing bacteria to digest polyfructose-containing glycans in the colons of germ-free mice (A22), suggesting that methanogens may play a role in caloric harvest. In humans, the inventors have recently found that increased methane on breath test is associated with a higher average BMI, both in normal population and in obese subjects. In the obese population, methane was associated with a remarkable 6.7 kg/m2 greater BMI compared to non-methane controls (P<0.05) (A23). While these data are suggestive of a role for methanogens in caloric harvest and weight gain in humans, this is weakened by the fact that, to date, colonization with methanogens has only been demonstrated in the large bowel (A24-A26).
Therefore, as described herein the inventors tested and compared weight gain and the location and extent of M. smithii colonization in the GI tracts of rats under different dietary conditions. Also described herein, the inventors examine the importance of Methanobrevibacter smithii as a determinant of methane production in the breath of humans using quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from stool of IBS patients with and without detectable methane on breath testing.
Obesity constitutes a significant and rapidly increasing public health challenge and is associated with increased risks for coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and premature death (B1, B2). Elucidating mechanisms contributing to the development of obesity is central to defining preventive approaches. Research has begun to define the relationship between gut flora and metabolism (B3-B5). Alterations in the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes have been linked to changes in metabolism and weight increases both in mice (B6) and humans (B4). Cocolonization with the methanogenic archaea, Methanobrevibacter smithii, results in a greater weight gain in germ-free animals than infection with B. thetaiotaomicron alone (B7).
Accordingly, there exists a need for methods for determining the presence of methanogens, and their cause and/or association with various diseases and conditions, and selecting and/or administering an appropriate treatment for those diseases and conditions, such as obesity, pre-diabetes diabetes, diabetes, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, constipation, fatty liver, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, to name a few.